Retazos
by MariaLujan
Summary: 100 words to say something. Call the Midwife 100 word challenge 2017.
1. Chapter 1

1963.

Julienne was having a hard time containing her laughter. Shelagh invited her to have tea when Timothy returned from his first visit to the hairdresser without adult supervisation. It was clear that the boy took advantage to make a famous cut. Angela jumped when she saw him.

"You look like George! Mommy, Timmy looks like a beatle!"

Shelagh looked at him, unable to believe what she saw, and Julienne was grateful to live in Nonnatus and always be surrounded by babies who did not know of the existence of the Beatles.

When she returned to the convent, she heard exclamations of joy and found Sister Winifred with Trixie.  
"What's happening here?"  
"Trixie bought the new Beatles album!"


	2. Chapter 2

Hug.

Angela heard a cry.

She stretched to see who was sleeping in her sleeping bag on the floor.

"Micky, are you crying?"

"I miss my mom."

She got out of bed and sat down.

"My dad said your mom is fine and you'll see her tomorrow."

"Do you believe your father?"

"Yes. He's the best."

"My dad is bad."

He started to cry again and Angela hugged him.

"I didn't know there were bad dads. If you want, I'll lend you mine."

When Patrick peeked into the bedroom he found Angela sleeping on the floor next to Micky. He lifted her carefully and she woke up.

"Micky needed a hug."

Patrick saw that his daughter had the same sweet compassion as her mother.

"I know darling. Thank you for taking care of him."

"Daddy you're good, I love you."


	3. Chapter 3

Certain.

 _"I know you so little but I couldn't be more certain."_

The words came to his head, words heard long ago, while he watched his wife sleep, exhausted after giving birth to their son. Years ago he had thought that Shelagh was brave in saying those words. Then he saw her being brave many more times, but never like this day.

 _"I know you so little but I couldn't be more certain."_

He did not want to stop looking at her, but he closed his eyes, grateful that she was certain that time, and every time.


	4. Chapter 4

Bossy.

He had to give some documents to Sister Julienne. He knocked on the office door and was paralyzed when he saw her, sitting behind her superior's desk. The telephone rang and he saw her speak, discussing issues, giving orders. When she hung up the phone, she looked at him, but of his mouth only clumsy words came out. Cynthia entered asking something that she solved in an instant. The she reached out to him, without writing on a paper with her other hand.  
"Thanks, Dr. Turner" she said, taking the documents. Jenny came in and she responded with other orders.

He went out in silence. He knew she was made for this, this was her place. But he also knew that now he was also in love with the bossy Sister Bernadette.


	5. Chapter 5

Spring.

Once she surprised him with a camp. Things did not go very well, but he did not forget her beautiful gesture. Time passed and he has the opportunity today to thank her.

Now he looks at her, sitting on a checkered tablecloth in a park, eating sandwiches and laughing with her children under the first spring sun. He knows that she is still surprised by his spontaneous invitation to miss school and work and that the blush on her cheeks is not only because of the rose he gave her but because of the kiss they shared.

She is happy, she shines in spring.


	6. Chapter 6

Dance.

It was a joy to know that he liked to dance. She always wanted to do it but she did not have anyone, and in these days of courtship he was teaching her.  
Tonight the record he put was different.  
"Tango?"  
He nodded.  
"Where did you learn?"  
He did not answer, only pulled her close and squeezed her tightly to his body. His hand on her waist burned, and he lowered it to her hip to make her turn. His steps carried her flying and in a complicated figure he brushed his ankle with hers. He never touched her like that before, and she never imagined that a dance could give her so much pleasure.


	7. Chapter 7

Cold.

The time was short, it was morning and soon there would be children awake. Patrick unbuttoned her nightgown, kissing her everywhere. She moaned as she felt his mouth on her skin until…  
"Atishoo!"  
When she opened her eyes, he wiped from his face the remnants of her sneeze.  
"I'm sorry!" I'm so sorry!" She caressed his face, she was full of shame, but he laughed, resting his face on her chest and she laughed as well.  
"If you have a cold I suppose you're going to need a good doctor" he said kissing her again, ready to give his wife the best of remedies.


	8. Chapter 8

Goldfish.

When Shelagh saw Trixie at her door, she laughed. She was anxious to get marry but she would miss the surprise visits of her friend who came to make-up, comb, and give her fashion advice. She had fun being the Trixie's doll.  
"I brought you a gift."  
She was shocked when she saw a goldfish in a bag full of water.  
"Surely you remember a certain conversation that we had around the little fish."  
That night, Shelagh laughed remembering her friend, while she feeding Patrick, her goldfish.


	9. Chapter 9

Eyes.

"Who are you?"  
Shelagh sighed in relief when she saw that the old nun had her eyes open. She put a hand on the nun's forehead, there was still fever, but at least she was out of the weakness that afflicted her all day.  
"I'm Shelagh,Sister. I'm taking care of you because Sister Julienne is sick too."

The nun shook her head, extended a hand, tried to touch Shelagh's face.  
"Those eyes...I met someone with those eyes long ago, but I don't remember her name."

Shelagh smiled and took the bony hand, hiding it under the duvet.  
"You don't have to be cold, Sister." She said softly, but the nun again shook her head.

"Those eyes...there was a time when they were always sad, empty...there was a lot of loneliness in them. But I still don't remember who they belonged to."

Shelagh swallowed the knot forming in her throat, invented a forced smile.

"Yes, there was a lot of loneliness in them." She stared at the floor, trying to avoid the look full of mixed memories that analyzed her from the bed.

"It's you, Sister Bernadette!" She heard joy and looked up to see the old woman with the emotion painted on her face. "Where have you been, Sister?"

"I was always here, Sister," she caressed her forehead again, softly. The nun closed her eyes, smiling. "It's always me. I didn't change."

"Oh yes, you've changed." The statement sounded harsh and she tried not to look at her, nor did she want to hear what the woman might say. But the nun opened her eyelids, and took her hand out from under the duvet to squeeze her own. "You've changed a lot, girl. Your eyes look so happy now!"


	10. Chapter 10

Stars.

It was midnight in Port Elizabeth when Shelagh snuggled into her husband's chest. Her uniform was still damp from the sweat of the day and along with the breeze that came from the sea made her tremble with cold. She covered herself with the blanket, but still could not close her eyes, the tiredness seemed to escape her. She gently caressed the Patrick's face, who had been sleeping for a long time, exhausted for a whole day of driving through a tortuous road and arguing with other doctors until he won the battle. Thanks to him, Dr. Myra started her treatment immediately and then they were staring at the hospital door, the fatigue falling on their shoulders, realizing that they had nowhere to spend the night, that in the hurry they only took a few belongings, and that they had almost no money. She suggested to ask for help in some church, but he refused with a smile that she knew very well, a smile that illuminated his face when some quirky idea occurred to him. She never imagined that the idea would be to spend the night in the box of a rickety truck on the other end of the world, and in the seashore to take advantage of the fresh air and the absence of mosquitoes that had been attacking them throughout their African adventure. But she could not tell him no, and after seeing him so worried for days, she was happy to see him happy, laughing at his own silly idea, while helping him improvise a bed and eating some snacks that one of the nurses gave them before they were gone. They talked a little, but he slowly fell asleep and she settled him and covered. She was worried that Patrick could not rest well in this truck after such a chaotic day or recover for the next day, which promised to be the same, but watching him sleep so quiet made those thoughts fade.

She sighed and kissed him on the forehead, watching him sleep, thinking that she could not love him more than at this moment, and knowing that other times would come when she would think the same. She wondered how she could ever doubt in loving this man who today saved a life that would save lives, and that tomorrow he would save other little lives, and that he would continue to do so because he had a passion for his work and she admired him for it.

She felt him stir and open his eyes.

"Can you not sleep?" He asked sleepily.

"I was just thinking." She smiled at him before kissing him on the neck.

"The kids are fine, Shelagh."

"I wasn´t thinking about the kids. Well, I think about them all the time, but now I was thinking about you."

"Me? You´re a naughty girl, we can´t do anything here, even if everything seems very romantic. The police will take us, imagine the headlines: "A doctor and a nurse, also ex-nun, found on a beach..."

She laughed and he joined her.

"I didn´t think that, you fool!" She curled up again and he wrapped her in his arms, kissing her hair.

"Shelagh, have you seen that?" He interrupted her laughter. "I´ve never seen so many stars in my life."

She opened her eyes and looked up at the sky. It was really painted with little lights, which seemed so close that she could touch them with her fingers.

"Maybe we´ll see a falling star." She heard him say in a yawn.

"Yes, maybe more than one." She replied in wonder.

"If you see one, make a wish." He said, falling asleep again.

She shook her head. She did not want to ask for wishes, because all her wishes were already fulfilled.


	11. Chapter 11

With the spring came the heat and with the heat the sellers of ice cream. Patrick knew that also, came the time when his son spent the day asking for coins to buy them. This year he did not complain. He wanted to give him everything that was possible, both material and emotional. He wanted to spend more time with his son, that the child would erase from his mind that he was an absent father. And of course, he wanted to buy all the ice cream that Tim wished.

One afternoon, Tim went into surgery sucking an ice cream that threatened to stain his pants. Patrick knew it was him before seeing him because of the sound of the keys in his legs. He walked slowly but surely, and every day he ventured out a little more.

"That's the third ice cream today, son. No more, it will hurt your throat."

"It's not my fault they're so delicious" the boy sat down in front of his desk, watching his father gather and read different papers.

"There's no work for you today, I'm afraid. The nurses cleaned everything before leaving."

"Um, it doesn't matter, I know you'll give me money anyway" he smiled when his father tried to look at him harshly, "Hey dad, what's Shelagh's favorite ice cream?"

He stayed quiet, with the last of the papers in his hand. He had no idea. They had been engaged for a few months and had talked about everything, but he never asked her anything like that.

"Don't tell me you don't know. Dad, you're terrible."

"I never asked her. You?"

"Neither, but she isn´t my girlfriend. You should know."

"You're right. It is a good excuse to invite her."

"Will you buy ice cream and take it home?" Tim suddenly seemed very excited at the thought of more ice cream tonight and at home.

"Don't even dream about it. You already had your ice cream today, and I told you that they will hurt you. I'll invite Shelagh to take one."

Despite Tim's complaints, he felt happy. He always wanted to spend time with Shelagh and if it was to know something about her, even if it was something as foolish as her favorite ice cream flavor, he felt even happier.

He left Tim at home and went to Chummy's house. He knew she would be there with the nurses. Almost every afternoon they spent together, finalizing details of the wedding. The idea of, in addition, surprising her there, excited him even more. He felt that all that emotion would be appropriate for a boy a little older than Tim, and not for him, an old man, but he could not help it. He was a fool in love.

"Oh, good afternoon, doctor!" Trixie greeted him when she opened the door. He could not answer, because the blonde was already inside shouting a loud "Shelagh! Your man is looking for you!"

He choked and tried to hide his cough while listening to the female laughter. He was thinking that it was not a good idea to appear in the middle of a women's meeting but that thought dissipated when he saw Shelagh, completely flushed.

"Patrick, what are you doing here?" she smiled, "I thought that today you would work until the night…"

"I finished before. Do you want to come and have an ice cream?"

He saw her blink and frown.

"Ice cream?

"Sure, ice cream. What's strange about that?"

"Umm...I don't know…"

"Don't you like ice cream?" It was impossible to believe that someone did not like ice cream, but he knew that there were many people who did not prefer it. Maybe Shelagh was one of them.

"I love it!" she exclaimed and he sighed with relief, "But it's just…Chummy was going to try on my dress. And Trixie wanted to try another hairstyle."

"Oh" he could not hide his disappointment, although the cause was decided to try something else, because more than ice cream, what he wanted was to be with her even if it was for five minutes."A trip to the ice cream parlor would take all your time but don't you have a moment? Even if it's to get an ice cream from some seller around here."

Shelagh's smile widened even more as she nodded.

As the street was full of children, Patrick guessed that an ice cream van would be nearby, so he decided to walk with her. He wanted to ask about the preparations for the wedding but he did not know anything about those things, so he decided to go straight to the subject.

"What is your favorite ice cream flavor?"  
"I'm not very extravagant. Strawberry. And also cream. And...lemon. And...chocolate."  
"All?"

She nodded, hiding her laughter. Patrick knew that when summer came, in his house it would not be only Tim taking ice cream without stopping, but also her. When he remembered that soon she would live forever in his house, he trembled with emotion. He brushed his fingers with her wrist and saw her blush.

"And yours?" Shelagh asked without looking at him.  
"Chocolate. You see, I am very classic and decisive. Here we are!" He pointed to a van.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw that she was restraining herself from running there and wondered how he not thought of inviting her to take ice cream before. Now he not only knew that she liked all flavors but that she loved them.

He bought both ice cream and turned to look for her. She was looking at her watch, it was probably getting late but her eyes lit up when she saw him.  
"You with ice cream. I think it's the best image I saw in my life."

He was surprised that she said something like that but could not say anything because she immediately took the strawberry ice cream out of his hands.  
He saw her close her eyes in pure pleasure when she tasted the ice cream and saw her lips wet and red and he could not help it.

He kissed her suddenly, feeling first the flavor of strawberry and then the own and sweet flavor of Shelagh. He did not care if his chocolate ice cream dirtied his suit, or that half Poplar was staring at was their first kiss in public, in front of everyone, confirming that they were together. When he separated, he saw her surprised eyes but also a flash of mischief.

"I think you'll have to invite me to ice cream more often, dear."  
"All the times you want, my love."


End file.
